Indian man climbs tree to escape from wife's medical bill

Bhubaneswar
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Paying medical bills can certainly be stressful, but one man from India flipped his lid and climbed a tree to avoid paying his wife's bill.

Okil Munda, 26, from a village in Orissa, India admitted his pregnant 21-year-old wife to a government hospital on Monday to deliver her baby. Their daughter was delivered by caesarean section, leaving Munda with a larger bill than expected.

“Trouble began when he was asked to pay around Rs.4,000 (about $90 US) for the operation,” family members told reporters.

According to Thaindian News, Munda went out and climbed a nearby 60 foot tree on Tuesday after not having the means to pay the bill, and has yet to come down, as far as anyone has reported.

Even after hospital administrative officials told Munda they would waive the medical fees, he would not come down. Police and fire officials tried to get him to come down, but he refused, not believing he could walk away from the bill.

District medical officer B.K. Nayak said: “The man then moved to another tree Thursday. He is still perched on that tree. His parents are trying to convince him, but he is not ready to listen."

Munda is receiving food and water by having it lifted to him on the end of a stick.

Nayak said the "man appears to be a psychiatric patient and requires treatment."